Alcohol education is the practice of disseminating information about the effects of alcohol on health, as well as society and the family unit. It was introduced into the public schools by temperance organizations such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the late 19th century. Initially, alcohol education focused on how the consumption of alcoholic beverages affected society, as well as the family unit. In the 1930s, this came to also incorporate education pertaining to alcohol's effects on health. For example, even light and moderate alcohol consumption increases cancer risk in individuals. Organizations such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States were founded to promulgate alcohol education alongside those of the temperance movement, such as the American Council on Alcohol Problems.

Alcohol education is the planned provision of information and skills relevant to living in a world where alcohol is commonly misused. The World Health Organisations (WHO) Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, highlights the fact that alcohol will be a larger problem in later years, with estimates suggesting it will be the leading cause of disability and death. Informing people on alcohol and harmful drinking should become a priority.

Alcohol has been known to have grave effects on the human brain. It has been shown that heavy drinking may have extensive and far-reaching effects on the brain such as simple "slips" in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions. Moderate drinking can even lead to the same types of impairments related with heavy drinking. Effects of long-term and short-term alcohol intake may include difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory, etc. A lot of factors influence how alcohol affects a certain individual. Factors such as:^{[citation needed]}

Educating an individual about alcohol beforehand could be a tremendous eye-opener, especially with the developing brain of students.

Educating youth and adults about alcohol use is an attempt to minimize the risk of developing a substance use disorder in the future. Drinking alcoholic beverages is among the major causes of health problems world-wide. Substance use at a young age can lead to a variety of health risks, both immediate and later in life, as well as an increased probability of developing a SUD. Educating the youth about the effects of alcohol and health problems that come with it earlier on in life may help prevent the damage before it is done.^{[citation needed]}

The abstinence model is commonly known as "don't do it". This model represents alcohol as bad or sinful because of moral, religious, health or other reasons. Although there are people who abstain from alcohol because of these reasons, not everyone falls under these categories. Therefore, the abstinence model has not proven to be successful in multi-cultural societies where not everyone has the same reason to abstain from alcohol.

The social-economic model represents statistics and facts related to the excessive use of alcohol. Irresponsible drinking can lead to a variety of problems and this model informs people about the outcomes of fatal car accidents, crimes committed and family issues all arising from the misuse of alcohol. This model also portrays the amount of money spent on health problems also related to alcohol. However this model is one-sided and has shown to be ineffective.

The alcoholism approach treats alcohol as if it were a disease. The alcoholism approach compares the negative effects of alcohol to the negative effect of other diseases. It focuses on the negative physiological and psychological effect of the drug. Although this approach may be helpful to point out signs and symptoms of alcohol use disorder it fails to discourage a person from drinking, responsibly or irresponsibly.